Australian police have charged a dual Russian-Australian citizen for trying to pass Ukrainian military information to people he believed were linked to Russian intelligence. The 27-year-old man was due to appear in court in Brisbane on Friday on charges of foreign interference. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett told a news conference that the suspect travelled to Russia for training in October 2024.
He then returned to Australia but “maintained contact” with individuals he believed were linked to Moscow’s intelligence services. The police allege the man enlisted in the Ukrainian military in May 2025, where he “gained access to information relating to their military personnel, units and locations”. Barrett said he shared the information obtained in Ukraine with “individuals he believed were acting on behalf of Russian intelligence services”, putting the safety of Ukrainian military staff at risk.
The identity of the suspect, who is unemployed, has not been revealed. Police said there was no indication he had received military training in Australia. Search warrants have been executed, they added, noting the possibility of further arrests related to the case.
Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation spy agency conducted the investigation. Russia’s embassy in Australia said it had no knowledge of the case. The TASS media agency said eight of the suspects were found to have 35 drones, equipped with explosives smuggled from the European Union, and planned to attack a strategic defence enterprise in the Moscow region.
Separately, a foreign national was detained close to the Norwegian border. The FSB security service said that the man – whose nationality it did not reveal – had been arrested for trying to launch a surveillance drone over Moscow to help Ukrainian intelligence plot an attack on the Russian capital. The FSB said it had detained the individual as he was trying to flee to Norway on foot.
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